BOSTON, Mass.—For the third consecutive season, #6 UMass Boston men's hockey will kick off the ECAC East Quarterfinals playing in front of their home fans at the Beacons Ice Arena. The second-seeded Beacons are set to host seventh-seeded Skidmore College Saturday February 21 at 7 p.m.
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ALL-TIME SERIES: Skidmore College leads the all-time series 13-9-3, but the Beacons are unbeaten in the past six meetings (3-0-3). This season, UMass Boston swept the Thoroughbreds by a combined 9-2 score in a pair of contests. In the only prior postseason meeting, fourth-seeded Skidmore scored three-straight second period goals to hand fifth-seeded UMass Boston a 3-2 loss in the 2012 ECAC East Quarterfinals.
SEASON SERIES: UMass Boston swept Skidmore in the ECAC East Regular Season with a 6-1 win in Boston in November and a 3-1 win in New York in late January. The Beacons outshot the Thoroughbreds 81-34 during the two contests, with UMass Boston holding Skidmore to a 1-for-9 performance on the power-play.
In the first contest, UMass Boston blew by the Thoroughbreds 6-1, with seniors Mike Kuhn (Holbrook, Mass.) and Stephen Buco (North Providence, R.I.) each recording two goals and two assists. Senior Nathan Milam (Westland, Mich.) and junior Peter MacIntyre (Norfolk, Mass.) each chipped in with a goal and an assist, while Zach Andrews (Coral Springs, Fla.) stopped 14 of 15 shots in net.
The second contest proved much closer, as UMass Boston scored three-straight goals to earn a comeback 3-1 win over the host Thoroughbreds. ECAC East Honorable Mention honoree Anthony Bird put Skidmore ahead 1-0 just 35 seconds into the game, only to have Matt Lemire (Townsend, Mass.) and Buco score in the second period to give the Beacons a 2-1 lead. Milam added a third period score and Billy Faust (Alta Loma, Calif.) stopped 18 of 19 shots to help UMass Boston earn the season-sweep.
SCOUTING THE THOROUGHBREDS: Skidmore College is looking to end a six-game losing streak entering the weekend. The Thoroughbreds were outscored 22-10 over their final six games of the regular season, including a two-game sweep by travel partner Castleton State College in the final weekend of the regular season.
Offense has been a problem all season long for 13-year head coach Neil Sinclair's squad. The team ranks ninth out of 10 ECAC East teams in scoring throughout the season (2.24 goals) and averaged just 2.06 goals in 18 conference contests. Sophomore forwards Marc Cibelli and Anthony Bird finished tied for the team-high with their 22 points, as Cibelli scored a team-best 10 goals, while Bird tied with senior Ondrej Krajnak with his team-high 13 assists.
Skidmore's defensive numbers also rank towards the bottom of the conference, as sophomore Jack McDonald and junior Ben Freiberg combined to post a league-worst 3.84 goals against average. McDonald, who has started in 22 of the team's 25 games, has recorded a 3.83 goals against average and .893 save percentage. In three career meetings with the Beacons, McDonald is 0-1-2 with a .934 save percentage and a 2.67 goals against average.
SCOUTING THE BEACONS: #6 UMass Boston is aiming to win a postseason game in three-consecutive seasons for the first time in program history-as they enter the 2015 Tournament. The Beacons who matched the 2012-13 team for the best overall finish in ECAC East play, have the second most wins (21) and recorded the second most conference wins (16) in program history.
Buco has led the Beacons' high-powered offense all season long, as the First Team All Conference honoree sits tied for first in the nation with his 44 points and leads all of Division III with his 30 assists. He was joined on the All-Conference Team by MacIntyre (Second Team) and defenseman Dan Cornell (Abington, Mass.) and Tyler Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.).
Freshman Colin Larkin (Waterford, Mich.) was the final UMass Boston player to be honored by the conference, as he was tabbed as the second Beacon to win ECAC East Rookie of the Year honors. Buco, MacIntyre, Larkin, Milam and Kuhn all have 20 points or more, for a UMass Boston team that sits third in the country with their 4.64 goals per game.
Defensively, Faust has been an anchor in net for UMass Boston over the past eight games. Ever since he was inserted into the lineup on a daily basis, Faust has gone 7-0-0 with a 2.38 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. The junior enters the postseason as one of two Division III goalies without a loss this year (12-0-1) and a 2.54 goals against average and .915 save percentage in 15 appearances.
STAT TO KNOW: While UMass Boston is certainly capable of coming from behind (11 comeback victories), the Beacons have been phenomenal when holding a lead late in games. Thus far this season, UMass Boston is 9-0 when leading after one period and 14-0 when leading heading into the third intermission.
